Manavi's Annual Community Dinner

The Annual Dinner is the one evening each year when Manavi volunteers, supporters and staff come together to reflect on the successes of the past years and reaffirm their commitment to ending violence against South Asian Women. The funds raised through the dinner enable Manavi to run some of its integral programs, such as Ashiana, Manavi's safe home.

In previous years we have had classical Indian dance performances and speakers such as Bapsi Sidhwa, the internationally renowned novelist and human rights activist whose novel, "Cracking Earth", was made into the movie, 'Earth', by filmmaker Deepa Mehta. In 2007, comedian Dan Ninan entertained guests with his unique perspectives on the world followed by a performance by the 15 member fusion Jazz band, Brooklyn Qawwali Party. In 2008, Bhairavi Desai, co-founder and Director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance and also one of the first employees at Manavi, delivered the keynote address. Shamita Das Dasgupta, co-founder of Manavi, took us on a trip down memory lane by talking about the early days of the organization and the evening was capped-off with a performance by ATMA, The University of Pennsylvania's all-female South Asian music a cappella group.

The Community Dinner is always a fun event and we look forward to seeing you there next year!